Hair iron controlled by usage detection and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a hair iron controlled by usage detection. The hair iron includes a pair of bodies hinged to each other. An electric heating plate is attached to an inner surface of each of the bodies, and generates heat by power supplied thereto. A detection unit is configured to detect an operation of the pair of bodies. A control unit is configured to control a driving power source based on a result detected by the detection unit, thus driving the hair iron to perform a preset operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hair irons, which are configured todetect usage and regulate power and temperature based on the detectedresults, and, more particularly, to a hair iron controlled by usagedetection and a control method thereof, in which the usage of the hairiron is detected and then an on/off function of the hair iron and aheating temperature are regulated according to a set operation mode.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a hair iron applying heat energy to the hair to straightenthe hair includes tongs that are held by the hands to press the hair,and heating plates that are attached to inner surfaces of the tongs insuch a way as to face each other and are used to heat the hair fittedtherebetween, thereby straightening the hair. A heater is usuallyprovided in the hair iron to heat the heating plates as power is appliedto the hair iron; and a power switch and a regulation switch areprovided at predetermined positions on an outer surface of the hairiron. An adapter is connected to the hair iron to supply electricitythrough a power cable.

A conventional hair straightening iron, disclosed in Korean UtilityModel Registration No. 20-0323555, is configured to heat and shape thehair by heating plates connected to a heater as power is applied througha power cable. The hair iron includes holding cases 10 which are heldand pressed by the hands, with heating plates 30 a attached to facinginner surfaces of the holding cases 10. An intermediate case 20 ispositioned between the holding cases 10, and is connected at an endthereof to a support hinge shaft 32 along with an end of the holdingcase 10, with heating plates 30 b provided on opposite sides of theintermediate case 20 to face the heating plates 30 a of the holdingcases 10. The hair iron also includes a regulation switch 12 to regulatea heating temperature, and a power cable 22 to apply power. The hairiron is operated as follows: if the holding cases are operated to comeinto contact with each other, the button-type power switch 34 makes anelectric contact, thus driving the hair iron.

The on/off method for driving the hair iron is controlled by driving thebutton-type power switch. However, the power switch is a means forcontrolling only the on/off state of the hair iron, so that variousfunctions such as the on/off function and the heating temperatureregulation of the hair iron are regulated by different switches, thuscausing inconvenience to a user.

Further, a wireless hair styling tool according to Korean Utility ModelRegistration No. 20-0439388 includes upper and lower bodies 10 and 20 towhich a connector 34 is coupled. A PTC heating pad 40 is provided in theupper and lower bodies 10 and 20 along with a temperature sensor 41. Atemperature control part 52 is provided at a position on an outersurface of the upper body 10 to control a temperature in a step-wisefashion, and a temperature indicating part 50 indicates the controlledtemperature. A battery power indicator 60 is provided at a position onan outer surface of the lower body 20 to visually indicate the remainingamount of battery power. The hair styling tool also includes an MCU 100and a battery 70. The MCU 100 is provided in the upper and lower bodies10 and 20 to control a circuit. The battery 70 serves to charge ordischarge power. A main PCB 71 is supplied with external electricity toconvert it into stable power and then charge the battery 70 with thepower. Further, the main PCB 71 supplies the power to the PTC heatingpad 40 to generate a predetermined temperature. Thus, the on/off stateof the hair iron is selected by a power knob 73 and the temperature ofthe hair iron is controlled by a temperature control part 52. As such,the function of turning the power on or off and the temperatureregulation are performed by separate corresponding switches, thuscausing inconvenience to a user.

The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of thebackground of the present invention, and is not intended to mean thatthe present invention falls within the purview of the related art thatis already known to those skilled in the art.

Documents of Related Art

(Patent Document 1) Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0323555,and

(Patent Document 2) Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0439388.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the related art, and an object of thepresent invention is intended to propose a hair iron controlled by usagedetection and a control method thereof, in which the hair iron detects auser's act of usage thereof and thus performs a preset function, such asan on/off function or a temperature regulation function, without thenecessity of providing an on/off switch and a temperature regulationswitch to be manipulated directly by a user.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided a hair iron controlled by usagedetection, the hair iron including a pair of bodies hinged to eachother; an electric heating plate attached to an inner surface of each ofthe bodies, and generating heat by power supplied thereto; a detectionunit configured to detect an operation of the pair of bodies; and acontrol unit configured to control a driving power source based on aresult detected by the detection unit, thus driving the hair iron toperform a preset operation.

The detection unit may include a tact switch on the inner surface ofeach of the bodies to detect the contact operation, or include anemitting element and a receiving element.

The control unit may count the number of operations detected from thedetection unit for a preset period of time, and the number of operationsdetected by the detection unit may be counted if a time when the pair ofbodies maintain a contact state is within a preset time.

A preset operation of the control unit, as controlled according to adetected result of the detection unit, may include a power-on operationand a power-off operation of the hair iron or an operation of heatingthe electric heating plate to a preset stage of temperature.

The hair iron may further include a touch switch provided at apredetermined position on the hair iron to detect a user's contact. Thecontrol unit may drive the preset operation of the hair iron based on adetected result of the detection unit in a state where the touch switchdetects the user's contact.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to another aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a hairiron using a detection unit to detect an operation of the hair iron anda control unit to control the hair iron based on a result detected bythe detection unit, the hair iron having a pair of bodies hinged to eachother and an electric heating plate attached to each of the bodies, themethod including an 11-th step of outputting an operation detectionsignal indicating the operation of the hair iron to the control unit, bythe detection unit; a 12-nd step of analyzing the operation detectionsignal input from the detection unit and counting the number ofoperations, by the control unit; and a 13-rd step of controlling adriving power source of the hair iron to perform a preset functionaccording to the counted number of operations based on a result analyzedin the 12-nd step.

The detection unit may detect a contact operation of the pair of bodiesrotating about a hinge at the 11-th step, and the operation detectionsignal may be input into the control unit to be analyzed at the 12-ndstep.

At the 12-nd step, the operation detection signal input from thedetection unit may be analyzed; and the number of operations within apreset period of time and the duration of each operation may be counted.

A preset function, based on the analysis results of the 13-rd step, mayperform a power-on standby state or heats the electric heating plate toa preset stage of temperature.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to a further aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a hairiron using a detection unit to detect an operation of the hair iron, atouch sensor provided at a predetermined position on a pair of bodies todetect a touch of a user's hand, and a control unit to control the hairiron based on a result detected by the detection unit, the hair ironhaving the pair of bodies hinged to each other and an electric heatingplate attached to each of the bodies, the method including a 21-st stepof outputting an operation detection signal indicating the operation ofthe hair iron to the control unit, by the detection unit; a 22-nd stepof analyzing the operation detection signal and counting the number ofoperations by the control unit, if the operation detection signal isinput from the detection unit after the user's hand comes into contactwith the touch sensor; and a 23-rd step of controlling a driving powersource of the hair iron to perform a preset function according to thecounted number of operations based on the results of the analysis at the22-nd step.

The 22-nd step may count the number of contact operations received bythe detection unit, when the pair of bodies rotate about the hinge tocome into contact with each other, and the 23-rd step may convert thehair iron into a power-on standby state or may heat the electric heatingplate to a preset temperature according to the number of operationscounted at the 22-nd step.

The 23-rd step may convert a power source into the power-on standbystate if the number of operations is counted at the 22-nd step in apower-off standby state; and may heat the electric heating plate to apreset stage of temperature depending on the number of operations if thenumber of operations is counted at the 22-nd step in the power-onstandby state.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to another aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a hairiron using a detection unit to detect an operation of the hair iron, atouch sensor provided at a predetermined position of a pair of bodies todetect a touch of a user's hand, and a control unit to control the hairiron based on a result detected by the detection unit, the hair ironhaving the pair of bodies hinged to each other and an electric heatingplate attached to each of the bodies, the method including a 31-st stepof outputting, by the detection unit, an operation detection signalindicating the operation of the hair iron to the control unit, in apower-off state; and a 32-nd step of analyzing the operation detectionsignal input from the detection unit by the control unit, and thenchanging the hair iron to a power-on state and heating the electricheating plate to a preset temperature if the analyzed signal isdetermined as an operation-state change signal.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to another aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a hairiron using a detection unit to detect an operation of the hair iron, atouch sensor provided at a predetermined position of a pair of bodies todetect a touch of a user's hand, and a control unit to control the hairiron based on a result detected by the detection unit, the hair ironhaving the pair of bodies hinged to each other and an electric heatingplate attached to each of the bodies, the method including a 41-st stepof outputting, by the detection unit, an operation detection signalindicating the operation of the hair iron to the control unit, in apower-off state; a 42-nd step of analyzing the operation detectionsignal input from the detection unit by the control unit, and thenchanging the hair iron to a power-on state and heating the electricheating plate to a preset temperature if the analyzed signal isdetermined as an operation-state change signal; and a 43-rd step ofheating the electric heating plate to a preset stage of temperature, bythe control unit, depending upon the number of operations, if theoperation detection signal input from the detection unit is analyzedwhile the electric heating plate is already heated and the number ofoperations is counted.

As is apparent from the above description, the hair iron controlled bythe usage detection and the control method thereof, according to thepresent invention, are advantageous in that the usage detection and thenumber of operations are determined not by the manipulation of thebutton-type switches of the existing hair iron types, but by the motionof using the hair iron; thus the on/off function of the hair iron andthe heating temperature of an electric heater can be regulated based onthe detected results, thus enhancing the manipulability of the hairiron.

Further, the hair iron controlled by the usage detection and the controlmethod thereof are advantageous in that the usage is detected and thenthe hair iron is driven only when the touch sensor provided at aposition on the body of the hair iron is activated via an actual usagemanipulation by the user, thus preventing the hair iron from beingdriven by an unintended motion and thereby ensuring the safer use of thehair iron.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing the operation of a hair ironcontrolled by usage detection according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views showing the operation of a hair ironcontrolled by usage detection according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the hair iron controlled by usagedetection according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a hair iron controlled by usagedetection according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of controlling the hair ironaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of a hair iron according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control process of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of controlling a hair ironaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinbelow, the configuration and operation of a hair iron controlledby usage detection according to an embodiment of the present inventionwill be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Further, like reference numerals are used to identify like elementsthroughout different drawings. In the following description, if it isdecided that the detailed description of known function or configurationrelated to the invention makes the subject matter of the inventionunclear, the detailed description is omitted.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing the operation of a hair ironcontrolled by usage detection according to the present invention, FIGS.2A and 2B are views showing the operation of a hair iron controlled byusage detection according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the hair ironcontrolled by usage detection according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the hair iron includes a pair of bodies 110that are composed of an upper body 111 and a lower body 112, an electricheating plate 120 that is provided on each of the bodies 110, and adetection unit 130 that detects the usage of the pair of bodies 110. Thedetection unit 130 includes an emitting element 132 and a receivingelement 133 which are provided on the upper and lower bodies 111 and112, respectively, to detect the contact of the upper and lower bodies111 and 112.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3 show the second embodiment of the present invention.The hair iron according to this embodiment includes a pair of bodies110, an electric heating plate 120 that is provided on each of thebodies 110, a detection unit 130 that detects the usage of the pair ofbodies 110, and a touch sensor 134 that detects the touch of a user'shand. The detection unit 130 includes tact switches 135 and 136 todetect the contact of the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a hair iron controlled by usagedetection according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Thehair iron includes electric heating plates 120 which are attached to theinner surfaces of bodies 110 and generate heat using supplied power. Adetection unit 130 detects the operation of the bodies 110. A controlunit 140 controls driving power according to the detected operation ofthe detection unit 130, thus driving a preset operation of the hair iron100. A timer 152 provides a clock for providing time period informationto the control unit 140. An LED-equipped indicating unit 153 indicates apresent state and a change in state under the control of the controlunit 140. An alarm emitting unit 154 signals a change in operationalstate under the control of the control unit 140, in the form of analarm. A heating unit 151 heats the electric heating plate 120 to apreset temperature by controlling the power of the power supply unit 155by means of the control unit 140. A temperature sensor 156 converts achange in temperature of the electric heating plates 120 into anelectric signal and then inputs the signal into the control unit 140.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of a hair iron controlled by usagedetection according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Thehair iron includes electric heating plates 120 which are attached to theinner surfaces of bodies 110 and generate heat using supplied power. Adetection unit 130 detects the operation of the bodies 110. A touchsensor 134 is provided on an outer surface of each of the bodies 110 todetect the contact of a user's hand. A control unit 140 controls drivingpower according to the detected operation of the detection unit 130,thus driving a preset operation mode of the hair iron 100. A timer 152provides a clock for providing time period information to the controlunit 140. An LED-equipped indicating unit 153 indicates a present stateand a change in state under the control of the control unit 140. Analarm emitting unit 154 signals a change in operational state under thecontrol of the control unit 140, in the form of an alarm. A heating unit151 heats an electric heating plate 156 to a preset temperature bycontrolling the power of the power supply unit 155 by means of thecontrol unit 140. A temperature sensor 156 converts a change intemperature of the electric heating plates 120 into an electric signaland then inputs the signal into the control unit 140.

The hair iron controlled by usage detection according to the embodimentof the present invention configured as such and the control methodthereof will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 A and 1Bto FIG. 7.

According to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, thebodies 110 comprise the pair of bodies, namely, the upper and lowerbodies 111 and 112. The upper body 111 and the body 112 are hinged toeach other at first ends thereof. Such a configuration allows thenon-hinged ends of the upper body 111 and the lower body 112 to rotateabout a hinge and thereby come into contact with each other.

During such a contact operation, a section of hair is first placedbetween the upper body 111 and the lower body 112 and then the upperbody 111 and the lower body 112 are moved towards each other so as to beclosed. The upper and lower bodies 111 and 112 are pulled while pressingthe hair. As the hair passes between the electric heating plates 120, itis possible to create various hair styles.

Moreover, an elastic member 137 is provided on the hinge of the body110, thus causing the bodies 110 to return to their original positionsby an elastic force after the bodies 110 come into contact with eachother to press and straighten the hair.

Further, the electric heating plates 120 are provided on facing surfacesof the bodies 110. The electric heating plates 120 are provided on thefacing inner surfaces of the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112, thusgenerating heat using external power.

Each electric heating plate 120 may be electrically connected to anexternal power source of 110V or 220V to be supplied with an electriccurrent from the external power source. Thereby, heat is produced in theelectric heating plates 120, such that the heat is transferred to thehair that is interposed between the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112.

In this regard, the electric heating plates 120 may be attached toeither or both of the inner surfaces of the upper body 111 and the lowerbody 112. By way of example, an embodiment wherein the electric heatingplates 120 are attached to both the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112so as to improve heat transfer efficiency is described herein.

The detection unit 130 includes the emitting element 132 and thereceiving element 133, or alternatively includes the tact switches 135and 136 on the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112 to detect the contactof the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112, respectively.

For example, the emitting element 132 is provided on the upper body 111,and the receiving element 133 is provided on the lower body 112, in sucha way that the upper body 111 and the lower body 112 are facing eachother. Here, the emitting element 132 and the receiving element 133 maybe selectively installed at any position along each of the bodies 110.

The detection unit 130 having the emitting element 132 and the receivingelement 133 is operated as follows: when the upper and lower bodies 111and 112 of the hair iron 100 come into contact with each other, anoptical signal of the emitting element 132 is input into the receivingelement 133.

In contrast, if the contact state of the hair iron 100 is released, theupper body 111 is elastically moved way from the lower body 112 by theelastic member 137. Since the bodies 110 are hinged at the first endsthereof to each other and always rotate in the shape of an imaginaryarc, the optical signal of the emitting element 132 is not input intothe receiving element 133.

The contact operation signal detected by the detection unit 130 in thisway is input into the control unit 120.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are sectional views of the hair iron according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention. Further, components commonto the first and second embodiments will carry the same referencenumerals. The detailed operation of the second embodiment will refer tothe description of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

That is, as another embodiment of the detection unit 130, the tactswitches 135 and 136 may be installed around the hinge so as to detectthe operation of the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112. As the upperand lower bodies 111 and 112 are moved, the tact switches 135 and 136are activated in conjunction with the upper and lower bodies 111 and112, thus outputting an operation detection signal to the control unit140.

When a user touches the hair iron, the touch sensor 134 provided on theouter surface of the hair iron 100 detects his or her touch and thenoutputs the detected signal to the control unit 140.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the hair iron controlled by usagedetection according to the first embodiment of the present invention,and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of controlling the hair ironof FIG. 4. First, if the detection unit 130 detects the operation of theupper and lower bodies 111 and 112 in a power-off standby state of thehair iron, the detection unit 130 inputs the detected signal into thecontrol unit 140.

The control unit 140 analyzes the detected signal that is input from thedetection unit 130, and then counts the number of operations within apreset time.

In this case, a time when the upper and lower bodies 111 and 112maintain the state of contact is counted. Only when the counted time iswithin a reference time, the input usage signal is counted.

Here, when the contact-state time period is short, namely, is within apreset reference time (approx. 1 second) for a preset short time period(approx. 3 to 5 seconds), the control unit 140 determines that it isindicative of a change in usage state, and thus generates a presetcontrol signal.

That is, if it is determined that the operation signal input from thedetection unit 130 is indicative of a change in usage state, the controlunit 140 controls the heating unit 151 and heats the electric heatingplate 120 to a preset initial temperature T1 when the hair iron 100 isin a power-on state. Meanwhile, in the power-off state, the control unit140 changes the state of the hair iron into a power-on standby state andwaits for the input of the usage signal from the detection unit 130.

Here, the control unit 140 heats the electric heating plate 120 to thepreset initial temperature T1 or changes the state of the hair iron intothe power-on standby state if counting is performed one or more times,regardless of the number of counted operations.

If the electric heating plate 120 is currently being heated by thecontrol unit 140 and the operation signal is input from the detectionunit 130 while the hair iron is in use, this signal is analyzed and thenumber of operations is counted. The electric heating plate 120 isheated to the preset temperature T1 or T2 according to the countednumber of operations.

For example, if the number of operations is set to twice, the controlunit 140 heats the electric heating plate 120 to the preset temperatureT2. If the number of operations is three times, the electric heatingplate 120 is heated to maintain the preset temperature T1.

Here, the number of operations may be set variously, and the temperaturemay be variously set to two or more stages.

In order to automatically turn off the hair iron if the electric heatingplate 120 heated to a preset temperature is not used for a predeterminedtime period, the control unit 140 automatically changes the state of thehair iron to the power-off standby state when there is no signaldetected from the detection unit 130 within a preset time period(approx. 35 seconds).

The control unit 140 drives the LED-equipped indicating unit 153 and thealarm emitting unit 154 with respect to a change in the operation state,thus indicating a change in operation state and a present operationstate.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the hair iron according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchartshowing the control process of the hair iron shown in FIG. 6. Adetection signal is input from the detection unit 130 and a hand touchsignal is input through the touch sensor 134, so that the detectionsignal input from the detection unit 130 is analyzed only when the touchsignal is input, and thereby the number of operations is counted. Basedon the counted number of operations, it is determined whether this is anindication of a change in state.

That is, if the hand touch signal is input from the touch sensor 134 andit is determined that the operation signal input from the detection unit130 is indicative of a change in state, the control unit 140 controlsthe heating unit 151 to heat the electric heating plate 120 to thepreset initial temperature T1 when the hair iron 100 is in the power-onstate. If the hair iron 100 is in the power-off state, the hair iron 100is changed to the power-on standby state to wait for the input of theoperation signal from the detection unit 130.

If the electric heating plate 120 is currently heated by the controlunit 140 and the operation signal is input from the detection unit 130while the hair iron is in use, this signal is analyzed and the number ofoperations is counted. The electric heating plate 120 is heated to thepreset temperature T1 or T2 according to the counted number ofoperations.

Since the general configuration of the control unit 140 remains the sameas the first embodiment of the present invention, a duplicateddescription thereof will be omitted herein.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of controlling a hair ironcontrolled by usage detection according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention. When the operation signal of the hair iron is inputfrom the detection unit 130 in the power-off standby state, the controlunit 140 analyzes the input signal. If it is determined by the controlunit 140 that the operation signal is a signal indicating a change inoperation state, the hair iron is changed to the power-on state andsimultaneously the heating unit 151 is controlled so that the electricheating plate 120 is heated to the preset temperature.

If the operation signal is not input from the detection unit 130 for apreset time is while the heated electric heating plate 120 is beingdriven, the hair iron is changed to the power-off state.

If the operation signal of the detection unit 130 is input into thecontrol unit 140 while the electric heating plate 120 heated to thepreset temperature is being driven, this signal is analyzed and it isdetermined whether or not the signal is a signal for a change in thestate of operation. If it is determined that the signal is the signalfor the change in state of operation, it is counted and the electricheating plate 120 is heated to the preset temperature.

Since the general configuration of the control unit 140 remains the sameas the first embodiment of the present invention, a duplicateddescription thereof will be omitted herein.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair iron controlled by usage detection, thehair iron comprising: a pair of bodies hinged to each other; an electricheating plate attached to an inner surface of each of the bodies, andgenerating heat by power supplied thereto; a detection unit configuredto detect an operation of the pair of bodies; and a control unitconfigured to control a driving power source based on a result detectedby the detection unit, thus driving the hair iron to perform a presetoperation.
 2. The hair iron as set forth in claim 1, wherein thedetection unit is configured to detect a contact operation of the pairof bodies.
 3. The hair iron as set forth in claim 2, wherein thedetection unit comprises a is tact switch, the tact switch beingprovided on the inner surface of each of the bodies to detect thecontact operation.
 4. The hair iron as set forth in claim 2, wherein thedetection unit comprises an emitting element and a receiving element,the emitting element and the receiving element being provided onrespective inner surfaces of the bodies to detect the contact operationof the bodies.
 5. The hair iron as set forth in claim 1, wherein thecontrol unit counts the number of operations detected from the detectionunit for a preset period of time, and the number of operations detectedby the detection unit is counted if a time when the pair of bodiesmaintain a contact state is within a preset time.
 6. The hair iron asset forth in claim 5, wherein a preset operation of the control unit, ascontrolled according to a detected result of the detection unit,comprises a power-on operation and a power-off operation of the hairiron or an operation of heating to the electric heating plate to apreset stage of temperature.
 7. The hair iron as set forth in claim 1,wherein the control unit interrupts supply of power to the electricheating plate and maintains a standby state when there is no signalinput from the detection unit for the preset time period.
 8. The hairiron as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a heating unitconfigured to drive the electric heating plate under a control of thecontrol unit; a timer configured to provide a count time to the controlunit; an LED-equipped indicating unit configured to indicate a presentstate of the hair iron under the control of the control unit; an alarmemitting unit configured to emit an alarm if there is a change inpresent state under the control of the control unit; and a temperaturesensor configured to: detect a present temperature of the electricheating plate, convert the temperature into an electric signal, andinput the electric signal into the control unit.
 9. The hair iron as setforth in claim 1, further comprising: a touch switch provided at apredetermined position on the hair iron to detect a user's contact,wherein the control unit drives the preset operation of the hair ironbased on a detected result of the detection unit in a state where thetouch switch detects the user's contact.
 10. The hair iron as set forthin claim 9, wherein the preset operation of the hair iron is performedto turn on and off the hair iron; and to maintain the electric heatingplate at a preset stage of temperature depending upon a result ofcounting the number of operations from the detection unit.
 11. A methodof controlling a hair iron using a detection unit to detect an operationof the hair iron and a control unit to control the hair iron based on aresult detected by the detection unit, the hair iron having a pair ofbodies hinged to each other and an electric heating plate attached toeach of the bodies, the method comprising: outputting an operationdetection signal indicating the operation of the hair iron to thecontrol unit, by the detection unit; analyzing the operation detectionsignal input from the detection unit and counting the number ofoperations, by the control unit; and controlling a driving power sourceof the hair iron to perform a preset function according to the countednumber of operations based on a result analyzed at the analyzing theoperation detection signal and counting the number of operations. 12.The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the outputting theoperation detection signal detects a contact operation of the pair ofbodies rotating about a hinge and then inputs a detected result to thecontrol unit, by the detection unit, and the analyzing the operationdetection signal counts the number of contact operations within a presetperiod of time and a time duration for which the contact of the bodiesis maintained, by the control unit.
 13. The method as set forth in claim11, wherein a preset function, based upon the analysis result at thecontrolling the driving power source, heats the electric heating plateto a preset temperature.
 14. The method as set forth in claim 11,wherein a preset function, based on the analysis result at thecontrolling the driving power source, performs a power-on standby stateor heats the electric heating plate to a preset stage of temperature.15. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein, if the number ofoperations received by the detection unit is counted in a power-offstandby state according to the analysis result at the controlling thedriving power source, the power source is converted to the power-onstandby state.
 16. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein, if thenumber of operations received by the detection unit is counted in thepower-on standby state according to the analysis result at thecontrolling the driving power source, the electric heating plate isheated to a preset initial temperature.
 17. The method as set forth inclaim 14, wherein, when the electric heating plate is already heated toa preset temperature based on the analysis result at the controlling thedriving power source, the control unit counts the number of operationsand heats the electric heating plate to a preset temperature dependingupon the counted number of operations.
 18. A method of controlling ahair iron using a detection unit to detect an operation of the hairiron, a touch sensor provided at a predetermined position on a pair ofbodies to detect a touch of a user's hand, and a control unit to controlthe hair iron based on a result detected by the detection unit, the hairiron having the pair of bodies hinged to each other and an electricheating plate attached to each of the bodies, the method comprising:outputting an operation detection signal indicating the operation of thehair iron to the control unit, by the detection unit; analyzing theoperation detection signal and counting the number of operations by thecontrol unit, if the operation detection signal is input from thedetection unit after the user's hand comes into contact with the touchsensor; and controlling a driving power source of the hair iron toperform a preset function according to the counted number of operationsbased on the analysis result at the analyzing the operation detectionsignal and counting the number of operations.
 19. The method as setforth in claim 18, wherein, at the analyzing the operation detectionsignal and counting the number of operations, the number of contactoperations received by the detection unit is counted when the pair ofbodies rotate about the hinge to come into contact with each other, andat the controlling the driving power source, the hair iron is convertedinto a power-on standby state or the electric heating plate is heated toa preset temperature, according to the number of operations counted atthe analyzing the operation detection signal and counting the number ofoperations.
 20. The method as set forth in claim 19, wherein, at thecontrolling the driving power source, a power source is converted intothe power-on standby state if the number of operations is counted in apower-off standby state at the analyzing the operation detection signaland counting the number of operations; and the electric heating plate isheated to a preset stage of temperature depending on the number ofoperations if the number of operations is counted in the power-onstandby state at the analyzing the operation detection signal andcounting the number of operations, wherein the electric heating plate isset to at least two stages of heating temperatures.